Mr Director General, I am writing this open letter to bring to your attention the urgent matter of delays in the issuance of national passports and identity cards at the Gambia Immigration Department under your leadership. As a concerned citizen, I am deeply troubled by the significant delays that many applicants and citizens are experiencing in the processing of our national passport and identification applications. I want to inform you that I have spoken to several applicants, and their responses have been discouraging beyond my imagination. It is a matter of great concern that many of them are yet to receive their documents even after three months or more of submission. This delay is causing a lot of inconvenience and frustration to the applicants and citizens.
Mr Director General, this is very disheartening and please be informed that this delay has caused undue inconvenience and frustration for many who have urgent travel plans and other commitments that require a valid passport to embark on. Moreover, I am aware that many other citizens are facing similar challenges, which are adversely affecting their personal and professional lives. This is caused by the ineffective service delivered by your department. Some have lost their lives after being recommended for overseas treatment, loss of scholarship and rebooking of flight tickets due to the delay in the issuance of travel documents. I am afraid that history will not be kind to you as citizens go through hell accessing valuable national documents.
Mr Director General, the last time I checked your department faced various challenges and constraints in processing passport and National Identity applications, including resource limitations administrative bottlenecks and unnecessary bureaucracy. Considering the above, I am of the view that urgent action is required to address these issues and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of passport and national identity issuance procedures.
To build a better Gambia, it is important to investigate the reasons for the delays in passport and national identity processing. I respectfully urge you to take immediate steps to streamline and expedite the application and issuance of documents. To improve transparency and communication with applicants, regular updates on the status of their applications should be provided. Adequate resources and personnel must be allocated to the passport and identity card issuing centres to meet the increasing demand of the citizenry.
I hope that you will address the delays in national documents issuance at the Gambia Immigration Department. Prompt and efficient services are crucial for promoting citizens’ mobility, facilitating travel, and upholding our constitutional rights as sovereign citizens. Your urgent attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated. I hope that you will take the necessary steps to address this issue and provide timely solutions to the citizens who are anxiously waiting for their documents. While I look forward to your swift response and actions to address the concerns raised, please accept the assurance of my consideration.
Saidina Alieu Jarjou
